LOS ANGELES -- The California Supreme Court overturned a lower court decision May 16, ruling that religious institutions may legally discriminate against employees on the basis of religion, according to The Associated Press.
The ruling cited the First Amendment, which gives religious organizations the right to define themselves and their religious message. The court threw out a lawsuit brought by an evangelical Christian who was fired from a Catholic medical foundation. The employee had disobeyed supervisors' orders to stop sharing his Christian faith with other employees, the AP reported.
The court ruled that religious employers - including publishers, TV and radio stations, churches and schools - are protected by the California Constitution from litigation, according to the AP.
The case involved Terence Silo, a file clerk at the nonprofit Catholic Healthcare West Medical Foundation, which runs 42 hospitals in California, Nevada and Arizona.
A lower court jury awarded Silo damages and attorney fees. The state Court of Appeal upheld the finding on the grounds that the California Constitution bars religious discrimination in the workplace.
The court found that those organizations may fire workers for objectionable religious speech because religions need "considerable discretion to choose employees who will not interfere with their religious mission."
